Jesuit’s strong academic programs have always been a defining aspect of school life. This was fully revealed in this year’s UIL (Universal Interscholastic League) Academic District Meet, held from April11-12, in which Jesuit students showed off their intellectual prowess in competitions ranging from English to Math.
The Jesuit UIL Academic team competed in Spelling & Vocabulary and Ready Writing, as well as Calculator Applications, Mathematics, and Number Sense. Some noteworthy accomplishments at this meet included Zachary Schutze’s ’15 2nd place victory in Spelling & Vocabulary, Will Eigenbrodt’s ’16 2nd place victory in Ready Writing, and Thomas Horton’s ’16 3rd place victory in Ready Writing. These three students will advance to the UIL Regional meet, held at Baylor University in Waco this Saturday.
Eigenbrodt appreciates how UIL “gives [him] the opportunity to showcase the writing skills I have learned since coming to Jesuit.” He says, “I was able to get this far because of the fantastic teaching staff and classmates who pushed me to succeed to the best of my ability.”
When asked what he likes about UIL, Horton said, “I feel that the UIL competitions are a good way to apply learning outside of the classroom. Participating in the ready writing competition has helped me see that the concepts I’ve learned in English class have truly made me a much better writer.” He also added, “All credit for my success in the competition really goes to my English teacher, Mrs. Farrell. She is a great teacher and has done an awesome job as the writing coach. I’ve learned a ton in her class, and she’s been an amazing resource for taking my writing to the next level.”
English teacher and Ready Writing coach Mrs. Marybeth Farrell believes, “Ready Writing involves a kid who can think on his feet on a given topic and also use numerous works and not just one work, so they have to see across works of literature and how they all seem to connect. It takes abilities to see across curriculum like that. When I chose Eigenbrodt and Horton, they both trust themselves to start writing, and have a knack for feeling confident in what they are doing. I have honed some of the skills they’ve learned at Jesuit, and they have really put them to work.”
Also competing in the Math events were:
Calculator Applications
Sam Cormier ’17 placed 16th out of 35
Aaron Furton ’17 placed 18th out of 35
Mathematics
Sam Cormier ’17 placed 12th out of 45
Alonso Espinosa ’16 and Aaron Furton ’17 tied for 17th out of 45
Number Sense
Jose Rivera ’16 placed 25th out of 36
